Reform is now attacking YouGov and disputing the accuracy of polls…
Richard Tice has accused YouGov of “playing games” as its polls show weaker support for Reform compared to other pollsters.
Sharing an article from the right-wing blog Guido Fawkes, which suggests YouGov gives Reform “a polling discount”, Tice asked: “Are YouGov deliberately playing games?”.
The Guido Fawkes article noted that over the last 10 published Westminster voting intention polls, YouGov’s average for Reform UK has been 24.8%, while the average from More in Common and Opinium has been 29.5% and 30.9%.
Nigel Farage has also taken to X to dispute YouGov’s polling. Farage wrote: “Reform are strong in all of the polls except @YouGov.”
He then claimed: “They are using bizarre adjustments to suppress the true figures. No wonder their share price has fallen by over 80 percent in recent years!”.
Reform’s Nadhim Zahawi co-founded YouGov in 2000, and was CEO between 2005 and 2010, when he stepped down after being elected as a Conservative MP.
Despite Reform’s claims, last May YouGov polling recorded support for Reform at 29%, and their polls still show Reform in the lead, despite that lead dropping.
More broadly, Reform’s lead appears to be falling across several polls. A JL Partners Poll from last week showed Reform was down four points, while a Survation poll found their lead had fallen by two points.
Responding to Tice’s post on X, journalist Don McGowan wrote: “Reform UK are falling across almost every poll. What do they do? Cry foul, of course.
“Nothing to do with the fact that none of their policies add up fiscally. Or that Farage is perpetually on Christopher Harborne’s jet, chasing money.
“Or the incessant press conferences. No, it must be a stitch up, of course.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.